Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Energy Saving Insulation

[Racheli&John (jnpalme]

** Reply to note from Peter Scott <ps [at] ak.planet.gen.nz> Thu, 16 Aug 2001 
17:54:07 +1200

>From Racheli
Sonora Cohousing, Tucson.


Most cohousing communities I know of run into 
serious budget constraints.  I suspect that Icynene
might end up being too expensive for many.

We used cellulose insulation (as opposed to using
fiberglass).  
Advantages: It's a recycled material
(made from newspapers and such); if wet cellulose
is used (and I don't recommend the dry variety*) -
it gets sprayed into the cavity, and creates a continuous
surface, without the type of gaps which occur with
fiberglass batting.  This contributes to both a better
thermal insulation, and improved sound insulation.

Disadvantages: This isn't a pristine substance, and some
people with chemical sensitivities might have a reaction
to the inks etc. in the (former) newspapers.  IMO, though,
it's not as toxic as fiberglass (where a major consideration, 
in addition to the presence of formaldehyde,
is the particle size).  I would say that for the acutely sensitive
neither one of these is recommended  - as well as many of
the other materials every cohousing development I've heard
of so far has been using.

Cellulose is close in price to fiberglass, so it doesn't require
a significant financial sacrifice to use it.  It's important to find
a reliable company to do the installation.

*  The dry variety tends to settle with the passage of time
(creating large thermal gaps),  so it should be avoided.

R.


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